The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-11-26

rock and flung it with certain aim at the
pulpsh body. 1t was at this moment that
Ihurber rose up in the boat to see what
was going on. The creature didn't see him
at first being entirely occupied in trying
to get me into its clutches. believe Thur
Der could have pushed the boat off and
floated away in safety, but he also acted on
the first impulse. Lifting up one of the
heavy oars he dealt the octopus u heavy
blow, no doubt inficting severe injury. He
was raising the oar for a second blow,
when | saw three or four feelers whip
through the air at once and fasten to him,
while the creature emitted kissing sound
like the blowing off of steam. The man
uttered a scream OF fright and terror as the
feelers caught him, and sank down in the
boat and chung to thwart with the clutch
OF despair.
Mind you, every thing had taken place in
a moment and l wasn't to be blamed for
not knowing exactly what to do. However,
l perhaps accomplished all that could have
oeen done under the circumstance. l
hurled rock after rock at the creature.
striking it fairly several times, but it re-
| fused to let go Of Thurber. 1t kept two of
the feelers ready for me, and once, when in
my excitement aud anxiety l approached
|
to catching me that it struck my foot. The
screams of my poor shipmate were terrible
to hear and they alarmed tho crews of sew
! eral vessels half a mile away. Two boats
! put off for us, but they had not passed over
half the distance when the octopus put
forth his strength and jerked Thurber from
MS mold and overheard. The water at that
| point was twenty feet deep, and it was ap-
| parent that there was sort of cavern or
| recess IN the rocks which was the home of
| the creature. We rolled more rocks down
| got long pole and thrust it down, and
after an hours work got hold of the sailors
| body and brought it to land. There was n
terrible cash in his back, made, no doubt,
| by the oeak of the octopus, and wherever
| the cups of the feelers had taken hold there
were livid spots and blisters, but neither
| the blood had been sucked out nor anv of
| the flesh eaten. l do not think any effort
| OF ours scared the creature into giving I'M
| the dead. 1t had retained its hold until
! certain that life had departed, and had.
| perhaps, chung to it the longer for our at
| tempts. The natives said that nv heayinp
the stones into the water had ANNOYED the
octopus and brought him up for fight, and
| that put Tor my action wo should have seen
| nothing of him.
FOR over four years l was mate and mas
ter OF small schooner plying between the
Spice Islands and Singapore, in the interest
OF an American trader. l do not think |
| made single trip without seeing from one
TO dozen of the horrible deyil-fsh. One
day in the Banda Sea it fell dead calm, and
a current drifted US close in upon an island
to the north Of the Lesser Timor. We let
go the anchor in "a little bay, and when the
schooner brought up she was in twelve feet
OF water and within fifty feet Of the beach.
The island was about three miles long bv
one broad, and covered with forest and
undeHbrush. 1t was charted as uninhab-
lied, except occasionally by pearl divers or
Wreckers and as the weather babe fair to
mold pleasant no anchor watch was set. AS
the weather was hot the sailors slept on
deck, there being one white man and five
natives. Everything passed off quietly un-
til just in the gray of morning, when ter
rlble commOtion on deck routed me out. It
seemed that an octopus had crawled up the
low SIDE Of the schooner, perhaps to crafty
It's curiosity, but seeing the sleeping men
had, perhaps also to crafty its curiosity,
flung feeler at one of them and taken such
hold Of his hand and arm that he awoke
with shout OF pain The others were also
aroused, and seeing what had happened
they seized whatever weapons were at hand
and made the octopus release its hold. |
came on deck just as it fell into the water
alongside, and the splash was as heavy as
II man had fallen overheard. A portion
OF the feeler which had grasped the sailor
had been broken off by the blows. There
were three or four feet of it, and for a time
1t squlrmed and twisted about the deck like
a spake. 1t had touched the mans flesh
only in one spot on the back of the hand,
but he made as much ado over it as one
would bullet in the leg. 1t was horrible
wound, however The flesh was puckered
up and blistered, and the spot where the
cup had taken hold looked like an eryslp-
elias sore. II was long four weeks before
the wound healed, and the scar left closely
resembled that Of a burn.
had the sailor in the cabin dressing his
hand, and it was twenty minutes after we
had beaten off the octopus, when there was
another cry from the deck, and heard the
men run forward and tumble into the fore
castle and slide the cover. More from ln-
stlnct than any thought OF danger l closed
the cabin door, then the skylight which
lighted the cabin. There was slide door
in the forecastle bulk-hcad communicating
with the hold, and also one from the cabin.
AlJer TWO or Lnree minutes inc sailors came
climbing over the cargo-we being about
one-third full-and let them into the cabin,
never saw more frightened lot of men,
and could not at first believe the story
they told. They said that when the octopns
fell into the water he swan off in the di-
rection of a rocky reef on our port quarter,
and distant about two hundred feet. After
few minutes the men noticed considera-
BILE commotion in the water, and this grad
ually approached All at once they made
out fiveor six octopuses at the vessels side,
and before they drew back and ran away
the monsters were throwing their feelers
over the low bulwarks.
There's one of 'em, sir-there's onen
shouted the mate at this moment and we
turned our faces to the skylight to see
three or four of the horrible feelers play
ing overit. Attic same moment the schoon-
er was canted to port with a sudden pull
all of three streaks, or with as much force
as strong puff of wind would have exer-
cised in the open sea. At this movement
all tho natives broke out into a yell Of
alright, and, as l sternly rebuked them,
one of them exclaimed:
30 Captain, the devil fish have come
aboard, and not one OF US can escapep
There was no longer any doubt that wo
were beset by the creatures. There was
not q second in which the feelers yyere not